Chennai, May 17 (UNI) For the second day, officials of the Directorate of Enforcement (ED)

conducted raids at the residence of State-owned Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation

(TASMAC) MD and IAS Officer S Visakan and subjected him for questioning on Saturday in connection with the Rs 1,000 crore alleged irregularities unearthed by it.

Reports said, a team of ED officials searched Visakan's premises for the second day in

succession, which was condemned by DMK government by terming it as an act of political

vendetta and harassment.

After questioning him yesterday and releasing him last night, he was subjected to questioning

today also at the ED office.

The ED after earlier raids in March, as a follow up action, again launched searches in more than

10 locations linked to TASMAC yesterday and continued it at Visakan's premises for the second

day today.

Meanwhile, the ruling DMK condemned the raids and harassing the TASMAC officials in the

guise of searches as politically motivated and an act of vendetta by the BJP-led government

at the Centre and said the government would support the officials through legal measures.

In a statement here, Minister for Housing and Urban Development, Prohibition, and Excise S.Muthusamy strongly condemned the searches carried out by the ED on the premises linked

to government officials and others in connection with the alleged Rs 1,000-crore scam in

TASMAC, the monopoly in retail sale of liquor sale in the state, and said the State government

would support the officials legally.

Asserting that no no evidence were found during the raids, he said instead the ED authorities

were harassing the officials, while terming it as vindictive and “politically motivated and political vendetta”.

Mr. Muthusamy also said the ED's claim of unearthing Rs 1,000 crore scam during the raids on TASMAC earlier in March as imaginary and to justify this false news, it is continuously harassing

the TASMAC officials.

"The State government will support the officials by taking necessary legal measures", he added.

UNI GV 2020